LLANDYFEISANT

"LLANDEVEYSON (LLAN-DYFEISANT), a parish, in the union of LLANDILO-VAWR, lower division of the hundred of CAYO, county of CARMARTHEN, SOUTH WALES; comprising part of the market and post-town of Llandilo-Vawr, on the eastern boundary of it; and containing 267 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Towy: the lands, which are tolerably fertile, are, with the exception of a very small portion, inclosed . . . A very considerable portion of this parish is occupied by
Newton Park, the property of Lord Dynevor, which comprehends within its limits, besides his lordship's modern residence, the site and venerable ruins of Dynevor Castle . . . The
church is a small edifice, situated within the limits of Newton Park, and is supposed to have been built on the site of a Roman temple, upon the foundation of which its northern angle is said to rest. . . " [From
A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1844).]

Some church and chapel data from
The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 1, South Wales. Ed. by
I.G Jones, & D. Williams. UWP,
Cardiff, 1976. The names are those of the informants

The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 1, South Wales., byJones, I.G. & Williams, D.
UWP,
Cardiff, 1976. These statistics for this parish are extracted from this book which in turn got them from the 1851 census itself;

Lloyd, Sir John E., (Ed.).
A History of Carmarthenshire (2 vols.), Cardiff, London Carmarthenshire Society (1935, 1939). With the kind permission of the publishers sundry extracts from this book can be accessed on some parish pages, here are some for this parish;-

Medieval divisions; In early medieval terms Carmarthenshire was made up of Ystrad Tywi [without Gower], Emlyn Uch Cuch and Y Cantref Gwarthaf [without Efelffre]. At some point pre the Norman conquest Ystrad Tywi itself was divided into Y Cantref Mawr and Y Cantref Bychan. About the time of the Norman conquest, Cantref Mawr was divided into 7 commotes, one of these was Maenor Deilo which included the parishes of Llansadwrn, Talley,
Llandyfeisant and part of Llandeilofawr.

Roman Finds in Llandyfeisant ; 300 yards west of Parish Church. Walls (?Roman) found in levelling the churchyard; "pot of Roman coins" (all AR) including Domitian (72-96 AD). [This is probably the same find as that given in
Archaeologia Cambrensis , 1855, p 311, as in the "kitchen garden of Dynevor Castle"]. etc